Page 57 of Secrets Beneath the Waves

TWO

Alexandria, Virginia

The morning sunlightstreamed through the windows of the secure compound, casting warm golden hues over the mahogany table in the kitchen. Jamie Austen, Ellie’s mother, sat with her hands wrapped around a steaming mug of coffee, her eyes fixed on the lush Virginia forest outside.

Their estate sprawled over several hundred acres and was a fortress in every sense of the word. High, reinforced walls surrounded the property, and the main entrance was guarded by a small army of highly trained soldiers wielding machine guns, their presence a stark reminder of the dangers that came with their line of work.

The centerpiece of the compound was AJAX, their cutting-edge cyber lab. The facility was housed in a sleek, modern building reinforced with state-of-the-art equipment and materials designed to withstand potential attacks. Inside, rows of servers hummed quietly. More than a hundred employees monitored global cyber threats and facilitated covert operations worldwide under Ellie’s father, Alex’s leadership.

Surveillance cameras dotted the property like pixels on a television screen, their feeds constantly monitored by a dedicated security team. Hidden motion detectors and biometric checkpoints added an extra layer of protection. Drones occasionally buzzed overhead, ensuring no corner of the property went unwatched.

The oversized garage housed three armor-plated SUVs that would withstand a small IED, although Alex and Jamie rarely ventured out in them. A hangar at the end of a long runway housed a plane and a helicopter, their preferred modes of transportation. Much safer to fly from the compound to a secure point and travel from there rather than go to the trouble of organizing an escort that looked more like a presidential motorcade than a trip to the grocery store.

Such were the inconveniences of more than thirty years of wreaking havoc around the world and waging war against despots, oligarchs, drug dealers, sex traffickers, and the axis of evil nation states intent on destroying the United States and its allies.

These types of precautions had kept them alive all these years.

Despite its intimidating defenses, the compound’s interior was surprisingly warm and inviting. The main house, where Jamie and Alex lived, featured a blend of modern design and rustic charm, with hardwood floors, stone fireplaces, and expansive, although bulletproof, windows that brought the beauty of the outdoors inside.

Alex stood at the stove, flipping pancakes with an ease that belied the intensity of the work he did daily.

“Ellie will be fine,” Jamie said, going back to a conversation they’d started the night before.

Alex glanced over his shoulder, arching a brow. “You sound pretty confident.”

“Because I am,” she smiled, her expression a blend of pride and reassurance.

“How can you be so sure? There are no guarantees in our line of work.”

“Ellie’s better than I was when I started,” she said. “I trained her myself. Every skill she needs, she’s mastered. And the assignment in the Cayman Islands? It’s not exactly life-or-death espionage. She’s looking for a mole on cruise ships. No gunfights. No extractions. No storming fortresses.”

“Yet,” Alex muttered, sliding a pancake onto a plate and turning back to her. “How often do things really go as planned?”

Jamie’s lips twitched in a smirk. “She’s ready, Alex. Trust me. She’s got this.”

Alex brought over the pancakes and set them down between them, taking a seat. He studied her face, his blue eyes darkly serious.

“Where is this coming from?” Jamie asked. “I thought you were for Ellie starting to go on missions by herself.”

“I’m not questioning her skills. She’s brilliant, and she’s had the best training anyone could hope for. But you can’t ignore the risk. It’s not just the assignment. It’s who her parents are. That’s what I’m worried about.”

Jamie’s expression softened, her hand reaching across the table to touch his. “I know what you’re saying. But right now, only a few people know she’s our daughter. She’s working under an assumed name. To the world, Ellie is another low-level CIA operative. A nobody. We’ve worked hard to keep her connection to us hidden.”

“And what happens when someone finds out?” Alex pressed. “We’ve made a lot of enemies, Jamie. People who’d love nothing more than to hurt us. What better way than through her?”

Jamie clenched her coffee mug as the memories of her own missions flashed through her mind. The burn of adrenaline asbullets whizzed by her, the gnawing dread she’d carried for years.

Ellie was ready, but readiness didn’t erase risks. Alex was bringing up a worry she had tried hard to bury.

“You’re not wrong,” she said, her jaw tense. “It’s something we’ll have to stay ahead of. For now, we’ve done everything possible to keep her safe. And she’s chosen anti-corruption, not?—”

“Sex trafficking,” Alex finished for her, his tone grim.

“Right.” Jamie’s voice grew quieter. “That line of work . . . it’s not something I wanted for her. It’s an emotional minefield, Alex. I’ve seen things that . . .” She trailed off, swallowing nervously before meeting his gaze. “I’m glad she chose differently. Anti-corruption is challenging but manageable. It doesn’t drain your soul.”

“It certainly is a lot easier to chase one bad guy than an entire organization of them.”

In the CIA, anti-corruption efforts focused on identifying and dismantling internal and external networks of bribery, fraud, and abuse of power. Officers investigated government officials, foreign operatives, and even agency personnel who exploited their positions for personal gain.